Christopher Tappin makes first appearance before Texas court

Wearing an American prison jumpsuit, retired British businessman Christopher
Tappin made a brief first appearance before a Texas court today where he was
charged with attempting to sell batteries for missiles to Iran.

The 65-year-old stood before a federal magistrate in El Paso where he was briskly read his rights and reminded that he could face up to 35 years in prison if convicted of illegally exporting defence materials.

After the hearing he was returned to Otero County Prison, a remote desert jail, where has been held since arriving in Texas last week after surrendering to US marshals in London following a two-year extradition battle.

Tappin, of Orpington, Kent, is due back in court on Friday, when his defence team will apply for him to be released on bail until the start of the trial.

Kent Schaffer, Tappin's American lawyer, said there was an "excellent chance" he would be allowed out on bail given his age and the fact he has no prior convictions but warned that US prosecutors would fight to keep him imprisoned.

"The government would like to detain him because if he's detained it's more likely that he would have to accept a plea bargain. It's always easier to get an incarcerated defendant to plead guilty," Mr Schaffer told the Daily Telegraph, adding that prosecutors had not yet offered any deal.

"[Tappin's] spirits are OK but it's very tough on anybody to be incarcerated - especially in the manner that he was brought across the ocean and held in a foreign jail in a foreign land. He's got a good attitude and is optimistic about bail," he said.

In an emotional appearance before a Parliamentary committee, Tappin's wife Elaine said her husband "was being held in isolation, locked up for 23 hours a day, and denied access to any reading material” in the Texas prison.

The US government alleges that Tappin intended to sell Eagle Picher batteries, a key component of the Hawk Air Defence Missile, to a Tehran-based company in violation of American laws banning arm sales to Iran.

A three charge indictment was brought against him in 2007 after lengthy sting operation by undercover agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He denies the charges, claiming that he had no idea the batteries intended for sale to Iran and that he only knew they were being shipped to Amsterdam.

Robert Gibson, a fellow Briton, pleaded guilty to charges in the case in April 2007 and was sentenced to two years in prison while Robert Caldwell, an American, was convicted in July of that year and sentenced to 20 months.